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Salaries in Germany: Official statistics, salary tables for the year 2024

Learn about official salary data in Germany, the minimum wage, average salaries in the country, year-on-year changes, as well as taxes and deductions from salaries. We have prepared salary tables by professions and data on salaries across European countries.


§ Minimum salary rate in Germany as of 2024, 2023

Since 2015, the law on the minimum wage/salary rate (Mindestlohngesetz, BGBl. I S. 1348) has been in force throughout Germany. The initial minimum rate was 8.50 euros per 1 hour of work.

Thus, every employee in Germany, with some exceptions, is entitled to a statutory minimum salary. This law also regulates the deadline for the payment of salaries, namely: the salary shall be paid to the employee at the agreed time, but not later than the last working banking day in the month following the month, in which the work was performed.

The overall minimum wage in Germany today, on 09.12.2024 is 12.41 euros gross per hour.
(Established by the Minimum Wage Commission)

You can find more information about the minimum wage in Germany on a separate page of our website:

§ Average salary in Germany

The average salary rate in Germany is not established by law; it varies depending on a range of factors, which include: the land(federated state) or region of Germany, level of education, size of enterprise, industry, gender, and some other factors, which are discussed below on this page.

The average gross salary in Germany for full-time employment is 4105 euros per month as of april 2022.
(According to the Federal Statistical Office)

Data on the average gross salary of full-time workers in Germany is published by the Federal Statistical Office. The German federal government annually determines the average gross salary for the past year and the preliminary average salary for the next year, which forms the basis for calculations in the pension insurance system. For more details on these data, you can visit a separate page on our website titled "Average Salary in Germany":

§ Gross-net salary, deductions from salary

Gross salary is the accrued employee wage including bonuses, subsidies, and allowances to the salary, from which taxes and social contributions have not yet been deducted. Net salary is the employee's wage that they actually receive from the employer, usually deposited into their bank account.

The employer deducts various taxes and contributions to social funds from the employee's salary, primarily income tax and contributions to health and pension insurance. We have prepared a detailed list of deductions from an employee's salary in Germany in percentages and a calculation in euros based on examples.

From the gross salary of the employee, the employer withholds income tax, contributions to social insurance, and other levies.

Payroll tax in Germany is the tax withheld by the employer from the salaries of employees. Germany applies a progressive income tax rate, meaning that the more a person earns, the higher the tax rate applied to their income. The amount of income tax is influenced by the state-established tax-free income and the tax class of the employee. You can find more information about this through the following links:

Detailed information on "Deductions from Salary in Germany" can be found on separate pages of our website:

§ Wages increase index in Germany, change in real and nominal salaries

Table 1 below, as well as the following charts, shows the change in German wages rates by year. Two indices are presented as indicators of changes in the amount of wages: the Real Wage Index (Ger.: Reallohnindex) and the Nominal Wage Index (Ger.: Nominallohnindex). Both indices represent the percentage change in wages/salaries in relation to the year taken as a basis of 100%.

Nominallohnindex - is a % change in salaries compared to the year taken as the base year.

Reallohnindex - is the Nominallohnindex adjusted for the consumer price change index, i.e. it reflects a real increase in salaries.

Table 1: Change in monthly gross salaries in Germany by year

Calendar year Salary,
in euros		 Reallohnindex,
as %		 Nominallohnindex,
as %
april 2022 4'105.00
2021 4'100.00 104.0 113.2
2020 3'975.00 104.1 110.1
2019 3'994.00 105.3 110.9
2018 3'880.00 104.1 108.0
2017 3'771.00 102.8 104.9
2016 3'703.00 101.8 102.3
2015 3'612.00 100.0 100.0
2014 3'527.00 97.7 97.4
2013 3'449.00 95.9 94.8

Chart 1. Salary change indices by year

Talk about raising wages at an enterprise in Germany

In Germany, it is considered normal to talk with the boss and immediate supervisor about a salary increase. CEOs are ready for such conversations and expect them.

§ Salaries of men and women, comparison of salaries by year

In the following Table 2, a comparison is made between the salaries of men and women in Germany.

Table 2: Comparison of average salaries of men and women in Germany

Calendar year Salary of men,
euros per month		 Salary of women,
euros per month		 Difference, euros
2021 4'275.00 3'699.00 576.00
2020 4'146.00 3'578.00 568.00
2019 4'181.00 3'559.00 622.00
2018 4'075.00 3'432.00 643.00
2017 3'964.00 3'330.00 634.00
2016 3'898.00 3'258.00 640.00
2015 3'810.00 3'161.00 649.00
2014 3'728.00 3'075.00 653.00
2013 3'645.00 3'007.00 638.00

As can be seen from Table 2 above, in 2021, women on average earned less than 576.00 euros per month, which makes a difference of 13.5%. Over the past few years, the wage gap between men and women has been gradually decreasing.

§ Salaries by profession - a catalogue of professions and average salaries in Germany

What follows is a directory of salaries information by occupation in Germany. To go to information about salaries by profession, click on the following links.


Footnotes:

RU-GELD.DE Team

Last updated:

Salaries in Germany

Salaries in Germany



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